Exhibit at Concord gallery features artistic survey of side chairs

Photo above courtesy of Bill Truslow, photo below courtesy of Dean powell
FORM AND FUNCTION: Shown here is "Dining or Desk Chair," a cherry piece with red leather upholstery, by Jere Osgood. Below is "Alpha Chair Side Chair," by guest artist David Masury. Both are featured in an exhibition focusing on "Just Chairs" at the New Hampshire Furniture Masters' Gallery in Concord.

"The chair is obviously not a new type of furniture," said New Hampshire Furniture Master Ted Blachly, jokingly adding, "It probably came into being when an unknown cave person decided to dovetail a stick on to a rock to make a backrest.

"Yet a chair is one of the more challenging pieces of furniture that a maker can build," he said. "The knowing craftsman understands the stresses that will be imposed upon it during its life and strives to address these structural concerns in an elegant way."

That attention to detail forms the backbone of an exhibit at the Furniture Masters' Gallery, 49 S. Main St., Concord, through June 11. A reception for "Just Chairs: A Survey of Side Chairs" will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 19, in conjunction with Art Concord/Art Walk. The showing features more than 20 chairs created by current and former members of the as well as a number by invited chair makers.

The exhibition will be on view at the Furniture Masters' Gallery, located at 49 South Main Street in Concord, NH, from April 12 through June 11, 2013. An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 19 from 5:00-7:00 p.m., in conjunction with Art Concord/Art Walk.

"Just Chairs" includes work by current Furniture Masters Ted Blachly, Jon Brooks, Garrett Hack, Howard Hatch, David Leach, Tom McLaughlin, Terry Moore, Jere Osgood, and Thom Walsh as well as former members Brian Braskie and Lenore Howe (two of the group's founders), Omar Clairmont, John McAlevey and Jon Siegel.

Invited chair makers showing works include David Friedline, David Masury, Tim Rousseau, Walker Weed, and Brian Weir, with historical examples by designers George Nakashima, Duncan Phyfe and Hans Wegner.

The New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association includes nearly two dozen craftsmen from across New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont, who create studio furniture in an array of styles including Period, Early American, Shaker, Neo-Classical, Traditional, Contemporary and Art Furniture.

Photo courtesy of Dean Powell
SPEAKING OF SEATS: Made out of mahogany, curly maple and leather, this piece by Ted Blachly, is titled "Nancy's Chair."